


I feel you driftin' away

by LJF



Series: we all want love/we all want honor [10]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Episode: s02e01 The Avatar State, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Protective Iroh (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, oh look it's azula, that's it that's the whole thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26747896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJF/pseuds/LJF
Summary: They werethisclose to Yu Dao (and Lady Toph).......And then Azula had to come in and ruin everything.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Series: we all want love/we all want honor [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936222
Comments: 17
Kudos: 252





	I feel you driftin' away

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Just to be clear, the Azula we see here is _not_ the Azula from _Between the Emotion and the Response_. This is Azula from canon-- what you see is kind of what you get. (Yes, I still love her and think she's a tragic character. But the Azula in _this_ series is _not_ someone who looks at Ozai and thinks "Every word that comes out of your mouth is a giant pile of bull..... droppings." No, here, you're getting the Azula, who, just like Zuko, _desperately craves_ her father's approval and affection. Just wanted to put that out there.)
> 
> A pretty short one this time. This was originally just going to be part of _did you grow up a little too fast_ , but it didn't make much sense to stick it there when that chapter already had such a clear ending. So instead you get this little drabble-y thing.

_"I sense trouble on the horizon, I'm afraid our time is up."_

_\- Alec Benjamin, "Match in the Rain"_

  


  


  


Finally, _finally,_ they'd reached civilization. (Although a _spa_ had _not_ been what Zuko had had in mind.) And now Uncle wanted them to just sit around and get _massages_.

"Prince Zuko, lighten up! Yu Dao just a few days' journey away," Uncle Iroh said. "It won't be long before we see Lady Toph again!"

"And then what, Uncle?" Zuko turned to the older man, despair and frustration evidence on his face. "We have no boat, no crew, no method of transportation, no way of tracking the Avatar. I don't know what we're going to _do_."

"In times of despair, it is good to have a true friend by your side," Uncle said in his 'wise old man' voice. "Don't worry so much! Once we are all together, I'm sure things will seem brighter!"

Zuko wasn't so convinced.

  


They'd just returned to their room, bickering all the while, when a voice from the corner sent them both into high alert.

"Hello, brother. Uncle." _Azula_. What was _she_ doing _here_? Zuko wasn't even sure his sister had ever left the Fire Nation before. _He_ certainly hadn't, before his banishment.

 _Lady Toph was only seven years old at our betrothal ceremony._ She'd had to leave _everything_. How had she ever forgiven him for that?

And then Azula started talking about how Father wanted him to come home, and all other thoughts flew out of his head.

  


"And what about Toph?" Iroh challenged him. "She's probably still Yu Dao, waiting for us-- for _you_. Will you just leave her behind?"

"She's an earthbender," Zuko said. "This is the _Earth Kingdom_. She'll be better off here."

"Do you really believe that, Prince Zuko?"

Instead of responding, Zuko stormed out of the room.

  


The whole thing was a _lie_. Of _course_ it was. ( _Azula always lies._ )

Zuko awkwardly used one of his broadswords to cut off his hair, then handed it to Iroh. (His dagger would have worked better, but he didn't have that on him anymore.)

"We _can't_ go to Yu Dao," he said as they watched the strands float down the river. "She doesn't deserve this."

"Are you sure, Zuko?" Uncle asked. "She may not deserve it, but she _won't_ be happy about being left behind. _Again_."

"Better angry than dead."

_I should know._  


  


  


  


_"My intuition tells me that it's the end."_  


_\- Alec Benjamin, "Match in the Rain"_

**Author's Note:**

> If you actually look at an Avatar map, the Su Oku resort village is legit _this_ close to Yu Dao.
> 
> Unlike _somewhere in the crowd_ , this chapter had a very clear precedent in canon. Plus, Toph isn't even here, so there's not much to change.  
> Which makes for kind of a short chapter if I don't just want to quote canon verbatim.  
> Don't worry, next chapter will make up for it-- we'll be going in some _fun_ directions _never_ seen in canon. (Figuratively speaking. I didn't make up any new locations for this.)
> 
> Yell at me on [tumblr](https://ljf613.tumblr.com/).


End file.
